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Why the Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Repealed

Why the Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Repealed

On a weekly, and often daily basis, we hear from people incarcerated in this nation’s jails and prisons seeking help. We hear from people who are not receiving the medical care they need and who are terrified that they will suffer permanent injury from the jail or prison’s failures to properly provide necessary medical care […]

Constitutional Cases for Justice Warriors: Yim v. City of Seattle

Constitutional Cases for Justice Warriors: Yim v. City of Seattle

Ninth Circuit recognizes “prison to homelessness pipeline, ” upholds (in part) Seattle ordinance forbidding landlords from adverse action based on criminal history. This spring, the Ninth Circuit decided Yim v. City of Seattle, 63 F.4th 783, 787 (9th Cir. 2023), which despite being a Section 1983 case brought by landlords against the City of Seattle, […]

Criminal defendant challenges Texas post-conviction DNA statutes

Reed v. Goertz: Criminal defendant challenges Texas post-conviction DNA statutes

U.S. Supreme Court holds that Section 1983 procedural due process claim accrues when state-court litigation ends Reed v. Goertz, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine when a cause of action accrues (and thus when the statute of limitations period starts running) for a plaintiff’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that his conviction violated […]

Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (April 2020)

Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (April 2020)

Multiple dwellings and probable cause for search warrants Blight v. City of Manteca, 944 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2019) Manteca, California! Nestled about halfway between Modesto and Stockton off of Highway 99, it is the hometown of former NBA point guard and coach Scott Brooks – an undrafted, 5’11″ bundle of grit and inspiration. But […]

Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (March 2020)

Civil Case Updates for Criminal Practitioners Archive (March 2020)

Gang evidence “almost always prejudicial.” Gilmore v. Lockard, 936 F.3d 857, 859 (9th Cir. 2019) In Gilmore v. Lockard, 936 F.3d 857, 859 (9th Cir. 2019), the Ninth Circuit reversed a defense verdict in favor of prison officials who, a prisoner alleged, used excessive force against him and then delayed his access to medical care. […]

Korematsu v. United States was ‘Gravely Wrong the Day it Was Decided’

Even though Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)-which condoned the forced relocation of all persons of Japanese ancestry in certain West coast zones during World War II pursuant to Executive Order 9066-was broadly criticized for decades within the legal profession and by American society at large, it was not expressly overruled by the […]

Say yes to "Time-Served" Deal, Say Goodbye to Wrongful-Incarceration Claim

Say yes to “Time-Served” Deal, Say Goodbye to Wrongful-Incarceration Claim

Taylor v. Cty. of Pima,2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 1545 (9th Cir., January 17, 2019) This case addresses the scenario where a defendant was pretty obviously wrongfully convicted, but then cuts a time-served deal to get out of custody. Can he still seek civil justice? Not to spoil the ending, but the dissenting opinion opens with […]

Saying It's Your Job Don't Make it Right, Boss

Saying It’s Your Job Don’t Make it Right, Boss.

Sandoval v. Cty. of Sonoma, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 36147 (9th Cir. Dec. 21, 2018) California Vehicle Code § 14602.6(a)(1) provides that a peace officer may impound a vehicle for 30 days if the vehicle’s driver has never been issued a driver’s license. Local law-enforcement officials carried out this job enthusiastically, even for persons with […]


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